Father Wolf
by vampireling23
Summary: The Triwizard Tournament is being hosted at Hogwarts again and the Hogwarts champion is none other than Teddy Lupin. Can Teddy survive the tournament? And more importantly can Teddy live with his father's secret?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One The Quidditch World Cup

Teddy Lupin lay asleep on his bed underneath a giant poster of his favorite Quidditch team, The Wimbourne Wasps, a team which Ludo Bagman had once played for. As one of the Chasers threw the Quaffle into a tall hoop, the clock on Teddy's bedside table struck two, and his handsome, black tawny owl, Orpheus, hooted softly, gazing intently at his snoring master. A few peaceful minutes passed, and then Ginny Potter, the wife of Teddy's godfather, Harry Potter, entered the room. Quietly she walked up to the sleeping boy and shook him, lightly.

"Teddy," she whispered "time to wake up." He groaned, opened his eyes, closed them again, rolled over, and went back to sleep.

"Teddy, time to wake up," she repeated, a little more forcefully.

"I'm getting up," Teddy said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "It's so early. Why couldn't you and Harry take us on Side-Along-Apparition?"

"Because," said Harry now entering the room "apparating is extremely uncomfortable. Once you've apparated you'll never want to do it again. I only do it when I have to and unfortunately being an Auror means that I am very often in a situation in which I do have to apparate."

"And," said Ginny "because Side-Along-Apparition increases the risk of splinching"

"All right, all right, I'm getting up," said Teddy. "Would you mind getting out of my room? I need to change."

As Ginny and Harry made their way out of the room, Teddy found some of his Muggle clothing. They had to wear Muggle attire so that it wouldn't look suspicious. It felt odd to Teddy to be going to an all-wizard event like the Quidditch World Cup dressed like a Muggle. He put on his jeans and sweatshirt and looked at himself in the mirror. A boy with reddish-brown hair and misty grey eyes stared back at him. He frowned, and then screwed up his face like he was straining to remember something. Without warning, his eyes turned from grey to a honey-colored brown. Teddy Lupin was something that was called in the wizarding community a 'Metamorphmagus'. This meant that he had the ability to change his appearance at will. Every time Teddy used his ability to change his appearance he felt a pang of uneasiness and sorrow as he remembered the reason that he had this gift. He had inherited it from his mother who had died along with his father during the reign of a terrible dark wizard, Lord Voldemort, whose name many witches and wizards feared to speak. Teddy gazed fixedly at a moving photograph of his mother and father who were smiling and waving at him, not knowing that their son was alive and struggling through life without them. No matter how close Teddy was to Harry and the rest, inside he had that feeling of being an outsider. They were not his family and there was nothing he could do about it. Teddy missed his childhood days when he still lived with his grandmother, who was now dead. The memory rose clearly in Teddy's mind:

_Teddy was ten years old and he had just been out with some friends. He was coming back home and he saw an odd figure above the house. It was a smoky, green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth. Teddy had never seen anything like it, but did not like how ominous it looked. He walked up the steps leading to the house and rang the doorbell. No one answered the door. He turned the handle and found that the door was unlocked. The room Teddy saw inside was a mess. Armchairs were overturned, half of the sofa had been blasted away, the once handsome staircase was crumbling, and the chandelier had fallen to the ground. _

_ "Hello," Teddy called, trying to sound braver than he felt. "Hello. Gran, are you there? What's going on?" _

_ Teddy crossed the room to look behind the wreck of the piano and saw a pair of feet. He moved forward and saw his grandmother lying on the ground. She looked peaceful, as though sleeping, but he couldn't hear her breath. _

_ "Gran," he said, pleading now. "Gran, please, wake up. Please, wake up, Gran. Gran, I'm hungry, wake up. What's going on?" _

_ Teddy felt a hand grab his shoulder. _

Just as that thought crossed his mind he felt someone grab his shoulder in the present taking him out of the past. Teddy jumped in alarm.

"Thinking about someone, are we, Ted?" It was James. Damn that little blighter. James was only ten and acted like he owned the place. Teddy was fifteen. What had happened to respecting your elders? Teddy took one last look at the photograph and followed a still chuckling James down to the kitchen where the others had already started breakfast and were talking about the match.

"It's got to be Scotland" said James as Teddy sat down and Ginny tipped bacon and eggs onto his plate.

"I wouldn't bet on it," said Harry. "Scotland got slaughtered by Luxembourg. Ukraine's never lost a match to Luxembourg. Scotland's got no chance."

"I thought you said you were supporting Scotland, Dad," said and eight year old Albus who looked remarkably like his father and his elder brother.

"I'm supporting them all right, I'm just not placing any bets on them," replied Harry.

"Scotland's improved their team since the Luxenburg fiasco _and _they've been practicing like mad," said Ginny. "They could stand a chance against Ukraine."

"No they couldn't," said Teddy. "Ukraine's kept their brilliant team the way it is _and _they've been practicing more than Scotland _and _they've got Tretyachenko."

"Taras Tretyachenko," said Lily, her eyes round with excitement "An excellent Seeker and _incredibly _handsome." Lily giggled over her porridge.

It was astonishing to Teddy. The little redhead was only six years old and was more into good Quidditch players than all the girls at Hogwarts put together.

"I think we better get going," said Harry taking his last bite of ham and checking the watch that had once belonged to Fabian Prewett.

They left the house quite cheerfully for a group of people that had gotten up at two in the morning. Laughing and joking, they walked towards the charming village of Ottery St. Catchpole. It was sunny, and the sky was the clearest of blues. The grass on which they walked was a little wet from the morning dew. After an hour's walk they reached the village.

"Over there," said Harry pointing to the nearest of the three hills that overlooked the village.

Teddy, James, Albus, and Lily groaned, in unison, when they saw how much further they had to walk. At last they had reached the hill and climbed to the top. There they saw a rather odd scene. Thirteen people were crowded around what appeared to be an old baseball glove. There was Ronald Weasley (who went by Ron) who was tall with flaming red hair, bright blue eyes, and a freckly face; his wife Hermione Weasley, a pretty woman with bushy, brown hair and chocolate colored eyes; their eight-year-old daughter, Rose, who looked a lot like her mother, but had her father's fiery hair; their six-year-old son, Hugo, who was Ron in miniature; Molly Weasley whose red hair was graying and her once plump figure was older and frailer, though her kindly expression and her brown eyes, not unlike her daughter Ginny's, were the same; Arthur Weasley who like his wife, Molly, bore the marks of age; Charlie Weasley who had red hair and looked extremely tough due to the fact that he had to keep dragons under control everyday, Charlie's girlfriend, Alicia Spinnet, a pretty blonde witch with dark eyes; George Weasley who looked a great deal like Charlie; George's girlfriend, Angelina Johnson, a brunette with dark eyes who happened to be Alicia's best friend; Bill Weasley whose long, red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and whose face was quite handsome, despite the fact that it was badly scarred from his encounter with Fenrir Greyback; Bill's wife, Fleur Weasley, who was breathtakingly beautiful with silvery blonde hair, misty eyes, and was part veela; and Bill and Fleur's daughter, Victoire, who was a miniature version of Fleur and was in the year below Teddy at Hogwarts.

"About time, we thought you'd forgotten," was Ron's greeting.

"Don't exaggerate, Ronald," said Hermione reproachfully.

"You do realize," said Harry to Ron, panting "that we had to wake up at the crack of dawn and walk several _miles_. The sooner this lot passes their Appariton Tests the happier I'll be."

"And this is coming from the man who told me just this morning that he hates to apparate and only does it when he has to," said Teddy, smirking. "Who are you and what have you done to my godfather."

There was a laugh. Victoire appeared to have found Teddy's remark highly amusing. Teddy looked at her, and she stared at her feet. Teddy's face promptly turned scarlet. James sniggered.

"All right then. Better get cracking," said Arthur, checking his watch. "Gather 'round the Portkey everyone."

Harry, Ginny, Teddy, Albus, and Lily moved towards the baseball glove. The circle tightened so that everyone would be able to reach out their hand and touch the old glove.

"Right," said Arthur, picking up the glove and holding it out to the others. "For those of you who have never used a Portkey before," he said looking kindly at Lily, Hugo, Rose, Albus, Victoire, James, and Teddy, "You only have to touch it. A finger's good enough." Once everyone had placed a finger on the Portkey, Arthur checked his watch again. "In a moment," he said. "Ah, right. Three, two, one."

Teddy felt a jerk behind his navel and felt the glove fly forward his finger attatched to it as though by means of a permanent sticking charm. He couldn't see anything or hear anyone over the roaring wind, he only felt Harry's and Albus's elbows bumping into him as they flew onward, pulled along by the Portkey. With a jolt Teddy's feet felt the ground again and heard a female voice announce, "Half-past five from Stoatshead Hill."

Teddy and the others straightened up and found themselves on a small patch of sand. They saw a pile of broken everyday Muggle objects that were undoubtedly used Portkeys. Arthur picked up the glove and tossed it into the pile as they made their way toward the little booth.

"Good morning, Susan," said Hermione to the witch.

"Oh, hello Hermione," said the witch called Susan. "How are you?"

"Fine thanks."

"How many reservations do you all have?"

"Just one. Under the name Potter."

"Let me see," she said rummaging through some papers. "Ah, Potter. You just need to walk strait and look to your right, you can't miss it. The name of the muggle is Mr. Roberts."

"Not that idiot again," burst out Ron. "We had him last time, remember?"

They thanked Susan and walked off in the direction she had indicated. Soon enough they reached a small stone cottage with a metal gate. An old man was standing in front of the cottage. This man was undoubtedly Mr. Roberts.

"Good morning, you must be Mr. Roberts," said Arthur.

"Aye, that'd be me," said the muggle. "Wait a mo. I know you. Lon' time 'go, you was staiyin' ere. That was a big party o' people, too. Like now, I mean. Loads o' people ere. Foreigners an' weirdoes. Some o' 'em are same ones that were 'ere the time before. The bloke in the nightgown's back. Hard to tell though, mind, been a while since then…"

"Mr. Roberts," said Hermione, cutting across his babbling. "Could we just pay now so that we can go into the campsite?"

"Right ya are, miss," said Roberts, accepting the money from Hermione and handing her a map of the campsite.

"Hasn't changed much has he," said Ron, once they'd passed the gate.

"Not a bit," replied Harry.

The camp was packed. There were tents as far as the eye could see, each fancier than the next. A few actually had live animals. It was not wonder that the Muggle at the gate was suspicious.

"Teddy," screamed two voices.

Teddy turned to see his two very best friends in the world, Violet Brown and Alex Rybbak. One thing that the three friends had in common was the fact that they had very messed up family issues. Teddy had never known his parents and spent the first ten years of his life with his grandmother and the most recent five with Harry. Violet was the daughter of Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown. However, they were not married. They had gotten together when they were at school, but after the defeat of Voldemort realized that they weren't right for each other, Lavender's pregnancy also contributed to the break up. Violet lived with her mother who strongly disapproved of men. One can only imagine how terrified she was when she discovered that both of her daughter's best friends were male. Lavender forgave Teddy when she found out who his father was, but she was still suspicious of Alex. Violet had straw-colored hair and two different colored eyes, one blue and one brown. She was the friendliest of the trio, but she did have non-stop fights with Alex that drove Teddy up the wall. Alex, on the other hand was a lot more secretive when it came to discussing their families. All that Violet and Teddy had gotten out of him was that his parents had not wanted him and had abandoned him when he was just a baby. He had been raised by a wise, old muggle fisherman who had found him. The fisherman, Mr. Rybbak, had taken Alex in even though he had little money for himself. Alex was probably closer to this man than any other, even his best friends. Whenever they touched some subjects Alex would mumble an excuse, turn scarlet, and hastily change the subject. However, he was the funny one in the group. He had brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. He was clumsy (even clumsier than Teddy which was saying something), and this for some odd reason was attracting to girls. He didn't date, though.

"Hey Alex, Violet," replied Teddy.

They were to be staying with them because Violet's mother was rather poor and couldn't afford tickets to the Cup and Mr. Rybbak, being a Muggle, had no wizarding currency. Teddy was able to persuade Harry and Ginny to invite them to come along.

"How was your summer, Teddy?" Violet asked.

"It was okay, pretty quiet. How about you guys?" said Teddy.

"Mine was quiet too," said Alex. "But Vi, wait till you hear this, she went to Austria! Her mum won the lottery. I mean Austria! That is so awesome!"

"Honestly, Alex, you said that about fifty times," Violet informed him.

"I did not," he retorted.

"Did too."

"C'mon guys," said Teddy, not wanting to hear another of their random fights. "We better get a move on. The others are going."

Fortunately for Teddy, Alex and Violet's argument was put on temporary hold as they walked quickly so as to catch up to the rest of the party. They soon found a small patch of dirt with a sign sticking out of the ground, reading "Potter". Harry pulled out two tents from his bag and told everyone that they would have to put them up the Muggle way. While Alex was quite a bit of help, Violet and Teddy just stared at it thoroughly confused. Once those who knew how to put up a tent had gotten them up they went inside one. There was a lot more room in it than it appeared from the outside having been enlarged by magic. It had an oven, several bunk beds, and a wooden table with moth-eaten arm chairs around it. The tent was hardly as extravagant as the one next to them that had a rose garden and a golden fountain, but it had a homey sort of look and feel to it. They had a quick peek in the other tent which was similar to the first, and Arthur assigned them all jobs. Teddy, Alex, and Violet were sent to fetch some water.

They set off, through the sea of tents. Occasionally, they would see some friends and stop to chat. Mainly though, there were a lot of foreign wizards. There were Americans sitting happily and eating burgers, a tired looking Spanish mother screaming at her children for stealing her wand, African wizards roasting meat over a purple fire…

"So Vi how was Austria?" asked Teddy.

"It was amazing! Everything's so big there," said Violet in an awed voice.

"Well, obviously it was big. What did you expect, you went to Vienna? I mean it's the capital," snapped Alex.

"Did you go to Belvedere?" asked Teddy quickly, as Violet opened her mouth to retaliate.

"Of course. It was breathtaking. We had a really good time there. Except when I got locked inside the bathroom," said Violet, turning a little red at the last part.

"How did…" began Alex.

"Anyway, my uncle got me a parrot as an end-of-the-year present," Violet cut across him. "He's really cute and he can carry messages just like an owl. His name's Jerry."

"Jerry? What kind of a name is…" started Alex, again.

"He went berserk when he found out I was leaving, poor dear," Violet interrupted, again.

"Bousja went insane, too," said Alex.

Bousja was Mr. Rybbak's dog. Her full name was Madame Bianca de Papillion. She loved Alex, Violet, and Teddy. That was another thing the three friends had in common. All animals loved them. Once a wolf followed Teddy home and stayed with them for several years until he met a female wolf.

They reached the well where there was a long line of people. The three friends stood behind a man in a frog coat, a bikini top, and a skirt. His odd apparel caused Violet to go into a fit of giggles. They got some water and headed back to their tents, moving more slowly now since they were weighed down by the heavy buckets. When they arrived, they found Hermione teaching Arthur how to light a match properly.

"Mental," said Teddy staring at the little box in Hermione's hand.

"Let's go inside the tent and talk," suggested Violet.

"Good idea," said Teddy, lifting the flap of the nearest tent and leading them inside.

"Blimey, I've missed you guys," Teddy said looking up at his dearest friends.

"Me, too," Violet agreed.

"As surprising as it may seem, I actually missed you two idiots," Alex said, smirking.

Violet responded promptly by picking up a pillow from a nearby bed and throwing it at Alex. Of course, it simply had to become a three-way pillow fight. It all went well until Fleur poked her head in, and told them off for acting like "fooleesh, leetle cheeldren." They ate bacon sandwiches for lunch at around noon. Many wizards stopped to say hello as they were eating. The most memorable of these was from Lee Jordan.

"Lee!" roared George as he saw him. "This is Lee Jordan, everyone. Sit down Lee, have some lunch. You look exhausted."

"Don't mind if I do," said Lee plopping down on the grass and accepting a

sandwich from Molly. "I _am _exhausted. The Ukrainians are mental. Completely mental.

You can't possibly understand a word they're saying. They think they're speaking English. Ha! If that's English, then I'm speaking in Gobbledegook. And their Minister of Magic knows absolutely no English at all. I'm trying to find a translator that can actually speak English. But still, it's all worth it. And _I'm_ commentating. So, anyone care to place a bet?"

"Ten Galleons on Scotland," said Ron, instantly.

"You're wasting your money" said Harry. "Five on Ukraine."

"Twenty Galleons, three Sickles, and a Knut on Ukraine," said George.

"Galleon on Scotland," said Ginny.

"Ginny, you know they're going to lose," said Harry.

"I don't care what happened back then," said Ginny stubbornly. "I believe in reform."

"You just like the Seeker. What's his name, again?"

"Derek Mackay."

"That's the one. He flies really fast and all. But Tretachenko can beat Mackay, in his sleep. And Mackay's the one who keeps crashing isn't he?"

"Seven on Ukraine," said Teddy over Ginny's and Harry's Seeker debate.

"No, 'e cannot be beteeng 'e eez too young," said Fleur. "'E eez only a leetle boy."

"He's fifteen, Fleur," said Harry, who knew from experience how embarrassing it was to be called a little boy by Fleur. "He's old enough to decide for himself."

"Geeny, you cannot posseebly allow zis," argued Fleur.

"Harry's right. If Teddy wants to do it I'm not stopping him," Ginny replied.

"Very vell," said Fleur, and then muttered something under her breath in French that made Victoire say, "Mama."

"Anyway," said Charlie. "I'll put five Galleons on Scottland making the first goal."

"That's it?" asked Lee looking around at them all. They nodded. "All right, I've got ten Galleons on Scottland to win, from Ron. Five on Ukraine, from Harry. Twenty Galleons, five Sickles, and Knut, from George."

"Three Sickles, not five. Stop trying to cheat me out of my money," said George indignantly.

After Lee had left they hung around the tents laughing and joking (and in Alex's and Violet's case, arguing) until darkness fell. Then many wizards with carts appeared and began selling merchandise. There were flags of both countries that played their national anthem when they were waved; small figures of players on both teams; scarves, yellow and blue for Ukraine and blue and white for Scotland; miniature models of the _Lightningstrike_, the fastest broom in the world; omnioculars, which looked like binoculars, but had several extra features such as the repeat button, the play by play button, and the slow motion button; and more.

Teddy bought a pair of omnioculars, a scarf that had the words 'Quidditch World Cup' on it, and the small figure of Taras Tretyachenko; while Violet and Alex, who were less into Quidditch than Teddy, bought only omnioculars. A gong sounded from the woods and red lanterns were lit to indicate the way to the stadium. It was time to go. They chatted excitedly amongst themselves as the walked along the lantern-lit trail. The stadium was enormous. There were about a hundred thousand seats all around. The stadium was painted gold and looked like it was actually glowing. The lady at the booth checked their tickets and told them to climb all the way up. Teddy felt extremely excited. He was going to be watching the Quidditch World Cup from the Top Box! They climbed up many gold steps to their seats. At the very top they found their seats and sat. Teddy could see the whole stadium from there.

"Programs!" called a witch handing some royal-purple, paper booklets.

Teddy took one and scanned it quickly. There were moving photographs of the players and information about the two teams as well as the individual players. But a certain sentence in golden-yellow writing caught his eye.

"It says that both teams are bringing creatures from their native lands," said Teddy.

"That'll be fun, that will," said Ron. "Remember the vela, Harry?"

Hermione faked a cough staring pointedly at Fluer and Victoire.

"Oh," said Ron turning scarlet.

But just then the Minister of Magic himself entered the Top Box. Everyone rose on their feet to greet him. Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shaklebolt, had fought Voldemort alongside Harry, and they were always pleased to see him. Teddy knew that Kingsley had been best man at his parents wedding. Kingsley was a bald, dark man with a golden hoop in one of his ears. He did appear quite menacing at times, but Teddy knew him to be a kind man.

"Kingsley," roared Arthur.

"Oh, hello Arthur," replied Kingsley smiling. "Harry," said Kingsley turning to him.

"Hello Kingsley," said Harry. "I'll have to talk to you later about that event that's going to be happening at Hogwarts. I don't think it's a good idea."

"No more do I, but I've been overruled." Kingsley caught sight of Teddy, Alex, and Violet watching them suspiciously. "Hello Teddy. Alex, Violet. You look more like your father everyday Ted."

That was what he hated about seeing Kingsley. Kingsley always reminded him of the parents he had never known. And how was it even possible for him to look like Remus when he, Teddy, was a metomorphmegus?

"Allow me to introduce, the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Mister Poro- erm Mister Porosojack. No, that can't be right. Mister Porosack. Mister Porochuck."

"Porosjuk," cried the Ukrainian Prime Minister indignantly.

"Sorry," said Kingsley. They left.

"What's happening at Hogwarts, Harry?" asked Teddy.

"The worst thing possible," Harry replied. It was clear that he didn't want to talk about it.

"What do you guys think it is?" Teddy asked Alex and Violet.

"I dunno," said Violet.

Lee Jordan entered the Top Box. He looked at Kingsley and asked him whether he could begin. Kingsley nodded and Lee cast a spell that would make him heard by everyone in the stadium.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!" roared Lee. Cheers erupted all over the stands. "And now please welcome the Scottish team mascots!"

In the stadium below part of the grass was sliding apart to reveal a pool of water in which small creatures with dark colored scales were swimming in. The music began and the creatures began performing tricks. They performed flips that were not unlike those you might see at dolphin show. The public adored them and cheered loudly when they performed the difficult stunts.

"What are they?" Teddy asked Hermione.

"Loch Ness Monsters, babies," she replied.

"They're amazing, aren't they?" squealed Violet.

"They are indeed," said Alex.

The baby Loch Ness Monsters finished their show and a witch dressed in blue and white dress robes tossed them treats. Once they had all been fed she returned to her place at the stands.

"And now, I give you the Ukrainian team mascots!" Lee shouted.

A man walked onto the pitch. But this was no ordinary man. He was hairier than a man and his nose slight resembled a pig's snout. Out of his head grew two horns. He was a demon! A Ukrainian demon, which made him far more dangerous than all other demons. A Kappa, a Japanese water demon, would look like a joke next to a Ukrainian demon, and a kelpie, a British and Irish water demon, even more so. The main difference between these two water demons and a Ukrainian demon was that the water demons would take lives by force and a Ukrainian demon would trick you into giving him your own soul.

The demon on the pitch was dressed in what Teddy supposed was traditional Ukrainian clothing. He wore an embroidered shirt, some sort of baggy red pants, and black boots. The music started and the demon began a Ukrainian dance called the Hopak which involved spectacular leaps in the air. Halfway through this marvelous performance two old women dressed completely in black and carrying walking sticks came onto the pitch. As they came closer to the dancing demon who appeared almost weightless as he jumped into the air, they turned into the prettiest young women Teddy had ever seen. They joined in the dance. When the three finished they bowed and the audience cheered and cheered.

"Well now that you've seen the mascots, it is time to meet our teams," said Lee. "Firstly, I present to you the Scottish team." There were many cheers all over the stands and several boo's from the Ukrainian team supporters. Lee called out the names of the players as they zoomed onto the pitch on their brooms. "Watson, Ferguson, Mitchell, Campbell, Stewart, Gordon, and McKay! And now for the Ukrainian team; you have Mykolaychuk, Zadavysvichka, Taruta, Pacuk, Zavyvayko, Kolomychenko, and Tretachenko!"

The Scottish team wore blue robes with their names written in white on the back, while the Ukrainian team wore yellow robes with their names written in blue. All of the players were riding the _Lightningstrike_. As the players flew to their positions in the air, a strict-looking woman with a crate in one hand, a broom in the other, and a whistle in her mouth walked onto the pitch.

"And here to referee we have our very own Rolanda Hooch!" said Lee. "She was teaching when I was at Hogwarts. The number of times she told me off! Well, I don't even remember." There was some laughter and applause at Lee's words. Teddy could even see Hooch laughing on the pitch.

When the crowd had settled down, Hooch opened the crate. She looked up at the players to see if they were ready. Then she released four balls from the crate, one large, red Quaffle, two violent, medium-sized, black Bludgers, and one small, golden Snitch. She blew her whistle and the game began!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Aboard the Hogwarts Express (Again)

Teddy and Alex had gotten safely onto the school train and were searching for an empty compartment. Violet had left them to go to her prefect meeting. All of the compartments that they passed were full of people. Teddy looked at the last one. It was occupied by only three girls.

"Looks like we're gonna have to sit here," said Teddy.

"Oh joy, the feminist trio," replied Alex sarcastically.

Teddy slid open the compartment door and the two boys stepped inside. The feminist trio, as Alex had called them, looked up from their conversation.

"Mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full," said Teddy.

The girls looked at one another for a moment. "Oh fine," said one of them impatiently.

"Thanks," said Teddy. They sat down opposite the three girls.

Diane Jackson, Victoria Venanzio, and Roxanne Hart made up the feminist trio. They were good friends (their friendship had survived even though Roxanne had been placed in Hufflepuff and the other two were placed in Gryffindor) that always stood up for one another and hated men as a matter of principle. Victoria and Roxanne were both Muggle-born, and Diane was a pure-blood.

"Did you see the Quidditch World Cup?" asked Teddy to break the silence.

"Obviously," said Victoria, as if it were impossible not to go see the Quidditch World Cup.

"Scotland epic failed, Ukraine was way too good," said Alex.

"Well, the Keeper, Gordon, he was great. He did the Double Eight Loop. That thing's impossible. I wish I could fly like him," said Teddy. Teddy played Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. "Watson wasn't that bad either. He scored right after he was hit by a Bludger."

"But how it finished was amazing," said Alex.

"Yes, yes, the Plumpton Pass," said Victoria sarcastically. "How amazing. Tretyachenko caught the Snitch up his sleeve. Obviously by accident."

"If Roderick Plumpton can do it, why not Tretyachenko?" replied Teddy.

"That was an accident also," she said, as if explaining the obvious.

"It was not. He maintained to his death that it was not."

"Oh yes," burst out Roxanne. "And that ex-Weird Sisters drummer maintained to his death that he did not kill that girl, but we all know he did."

Teddy chose not to answer. It was not a good idea to get Roxanne ranting about how easily celebrities could escape the law.

"Anyway, did you notice that there was only one girl in both of the teams put together?" asked Diane. Teddy had not noticed, but he said nothing. "And Ukraine has two teams, one men's and one women's. That is so stupid."

"Well you all support the Holyhead Harpies and that's an all girl team," Alex pointed out.

"You idiot, don't you understand why they did that?" said Victoria.

"Please, enlighten me," said Alex sarcastically.

"They did to give men a taste of their own medicine. Women were tired of begging men to let them on their teams, so they decided to make the men be the beggars," explained Diane.

"Permit me to observe, that you are fighting fire with fire," said Alex with forced calm.

"We've tried fighting with water for centuries. And that's not just with Quidditch, you know. Water doesn't work," Roxanne replied.

"Well then, might I suggest a fire extinguisher," said Alex.

"What's a fire extinguisher?" asked Diane interestedly.

"It's what Muggles use to put out fires," Roxanne told her.

Before they could begin arguing again, the compartment door slid open. Violet was standing there, her trunk in one hand, a caged parrot in the other.

"Mind if I join you?" Violet asked.

"Of course not," said Victoria.

"I heard shouting, what was all that about?" said Violet sitting down.

"They think that they can gain something by fighting fire with fire," Alex informed her.

"I wouldn't call it fire. But your so-called fire is working better than your so-called water. Besides there is no alternative," said Roxanne.

"THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE. IT'S CALLED A FIRE EXTINGUISHER!" Alex screamed.

"What's a fire extinguisher," Violet inquired.

"Something Muggles use to put out fires, apparently," Teddy told her.

"Oh, lord. How did you get on this subject?" said Violet.

"Qudditch," chorused Teddy, Alex, and the feminist trio.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with Quidditch? I mean, I guess it was kind of cool to see the Cup and the determination of the players, but honestly, it's just a game."

"Quidditch is fun," said Victoria in a tone that clearly suggested that she thought Violet was going insane.

"Well, I suppose there is some excitement in the game. But it's still just a game. There are some highlights of the game, but you must confess, outside of those highlights, one Quidditch game is much like another."

"Well, I like Quidditch a lot," said Teddy. "But it's not just the game. Actually I prefer flying to the game itself. It's a wonderful feeling when you fly like you're free of everything. It's like… well I don't know how to describe it… but it's like nothing else you've ever felt."

"What are you trying to be free from, Ted?" asked Roxanne.

"That is a good question," Teddy said.

It was a good question. What was it he was trying to be free from? Was it that feeling of being an outsider? Or was it the unfair losses he'd had so early in life? Or was it that inescapable feeling that there was something that he wasn't being told?

While the others began to talk of something else, Teddy looked out the window. It was beginning to grow dark and lights began appearing in the little houses that they went by. The houses were quite charming; they were made of stone with red roofs and had little chimneys with smoke curling out of them. Quite a distance away Teddy could see a gigantic castle, it was Hogwarts, it was home.

**Author's Note (if you don't want to read this, no one's making you):**

**Hello everyone! Now I'd like to thank some people. Thank you, Laura Wolf, for the lovely review. Thank you, FallenStar22, for adding this to favorite story. Thank you, mom for helping me think up of names for the feminist trio. Thank you, dad, for giving me awesome ideas. By the way he recently gave me another idea, thank you daddy (oops, I think he's embarrassed now), that I will use for this. No, I'm not telling you, but all I'll say is; it involves a character that all Harry Potter fans love. First person to guess the character gets a bag of dungbombs! I don't own Harry Potter, so please don't sue me. I love reviews, even if their hate messages, so please review. Come on now, press the pretty green button. Love world cup fever. I can't believe it's almost over. Go Spain!**

**Love you all,**

**vampireling23**

**P.S. Fire extinguisher.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Dedicated to the god of writer's block. May he never trouble me again. **

The Triwizard Tournament

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" The Great Hall fell silent as Charles Clover, the Headmaster, rose to his feet. He was middle-aged man with the excitement of a nine-year-old. And when he looked at you with his shinning blue eyes you felt as if he could see through you and you could hide nothing from him. "Now that you have stuffed yourselves to the point of near explosion, I have some very important news for you. Some of you may have heard of the Triwizard Tournament. For those of you who haven't, it is an international wizarding competition in which three schools participate. Now, there have been deaths in the past, however I think it is safe to say that this year it will be much safer. Also, there will be an age limit. Only those who are at least seventeen may enter. Of those who have entered one will be chosen by an impartial judge to be the champion of the school. The other schools participating are Charivni Palychky (cha-reev-nee pa-lo-chkee) and Powaqa. They will arrive on Halloween."

Teddy's heart sank a little at the mention of the age limit. He had wanted to enter. It sounded so exciting. And it would be great to represent his school. But, he knew there was probably a good reason for the age limit. After all, people had _died _in the past.

"Also," Professor Clover continued, "there will be no Quidditch due to the Tournament."

Teddy groaned along with many others. Quidditch was one of the things he had been looking forward to most. Professor Clover just smiled at the disappointed students, his perfect, white teeth reflecting the light of the hundreds of candles that filled the Great Hall.

"Goodnight all," he cried merrily. "Off to bed."

Teddy and Alex took one of their favorite short-cuts to Gryffindor Tower while Violet rushed to fulfill her prefect's duties. The splendor of the castle never failed to astonish Teddy, even after four years. He loved everything about Hogwarts; the many spiral stairways, the pictures that moved, the trick steps that you would fall through if you forgot to jump, doors pretending to be walls, walls pretending to be doors, even Peeves the Poltergeist who loved to cause problems and could be restrained only by the Bloody Baron. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady whose job it was to guard the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

"Password?" she said raising an eyebrow at them.

"Puppy biscuit," said Alex. The Fat Lady's portrait swung open to reveal the Portrait Hole.

"Puppy biscuit? Seriously?" said Teddy incredulously as they clambered through.

"I know," Alex agreed. "I was wondering if she was starting to lose her marbles."

"Let's wait for Violet."

"Sure."

The common room was almost empty. Teddy and Alex sat down in the moth-eaten arm chairs by the roaring fire. Violet soon entered the common followed by the first years and proceeded to give them a tour of the common room and the dormitories.

"I swear they get smaller every year," said Alex looking at the first years.

"I know," Teddy agreed. "Hey, Violet," he added as she came over and sat down.

"So, the Triwizard Tournament. How cool is that?" said Alex excitedly.

"Beyond cool," Teddy said. "Shame we can't enter, though."

"I doubt we've learned enough to enter," said Violet. "What do you reckon the champions will have to do?"

"Harry said there are three tasks that are really dangerous. And there are five judges who judge the each task. Three of the judges are each of the School's Heads," Teddy told them.

"What about the other two?" asked Violet.

"Don't remember."

"And who's the impartial judge?"

"What, not who. The Goblet of Fire. I don't know what that is."

Teddy stifled a yawn. It was getting pretty late. The thought of his four-poster bed upstairs was inviting. They decided to go to bed and continue their discussion of the tournament in the morning. Upon entering their dormitory, Teddy and Alex saw their two dorm-mates, Ash White and Brian Wickham. Ash and Brian were the Hogwarts trouble-makers. Their pranks were second only to Peeves's. Teddy knew that Brian had a bit of a crush on Victoria. Like that was ever going to happen! He wouldn't be surprised if the feminist trio were lesbians.

"'Sup, guys?" Ash asked as they entered. "Good summer?"

"Not bad," said Teddy answering for both of them. "You?"

"Okay."

Teddy was too tired to continue the discussion. He put on his pajamas and climbed into bed. His bed was the one nearest the window, so he could look outside whenever he liked. The moon was almost a perfect circle, a waxing gibbous. The light from Hagrid's hut by the Forbidden Forest could be seen as a little fleck of gold. Teddy closed his weary eyes and nodded off to sleep.

"Wakey time!" Alex screamed into Teddy's ear on Halloween morning. Teddy was most definitely not a morning person.

"Will you torture someone else for a change?" said Teddy.

"Nope. C'mon the other schools are coming today. Wakey, wakey, wakey!"

"You do know that's annoying, right?"

Before Alex had time to answer, Violet screamed from downstairs, "Teddy Remus Lupin get down here this instant!"

"You gotta do what the lady says," Alex told Teddy.

"Fine," said Teddy getting up.

When they entered the Great Hall, everyone was talking about the two schools. Teddy, Alex, and Violet were quick to join the discussion.

"Where are they from?" asked Diane.

"Charivni Palychky are from Ukraine and Powaqa are from California," Teddy told her.

"How do you know that?" asked Alex.

"Hermione made me memorize the names of all the wizarding schools."

"Is it true that they learn the Dark Arts at Charivni Palychky?" asked Brian.

"I think so," said Violet. "Mum said so, anyway."

For Teddy the classes seemed to be twice as long. He kept checking his watch, awaiting six o'clock for that was when the other schools were to arrive. When the last bell finally rang throughout the castle, Teddy was one of the first to jump to his feet. His excitement was mirrored in the faces of those around him. The students hurriedly made their way to the grounds; the sounds of thousands of footfalls were echoing in the halls. Teachers were trying to make order out of the sea of students, but to no avail.

"Ladies and gentlemen," roared Professor Clover. "May I have your attention? Will you please try to be a little more respectful when our guests arrive, eh?" he said chuckling.

The students had fallen silent. They were looking in all directions for signs of the arriving schools. Then, something could be seen in the lake. Several dozen people on surf boards had their wands out and were causing the boards to move closer and closer to the bank. The girls were wearing tight, revealing bikinis of the sort that would cause most definite expulsion from Hogwarts. The boys were wearing swimming trunks. A full grown woman was first to reach the shore. She was a tall woman with reddish blonde hair. There was a sort of proud and pompous air about her. Teddy was sure that she was the Headmistress.

"Ah, Charles," she said striding towards Professor Clover. "Long time no see." She had an American accent.

"Indeed," replied Clover "How are you, ChrissAnn?"

"Super! And you?"

"Not bad. I trust you remember where the bathrooms are?"

"Of course." She turned to her students that were getting out of the icy water. Many of them were shivering. "This way, everyone."

As her students followed her to the castle, Professor Clover looked back at his own students. "That was Mrs. Shane and her students from Powaqa."

Teddy wondered how Charivi Palychky would be arriving. Would they come on surf boards too? Many people seemed to think so for they were looking at the lake. But Charivi Palychky did not arrive by water.

"Look at that!" someone shouted pointing up at the evening sky above.

The Headmistress and the students of Charivni Paychky were flying up above them without need of broomstick or thestral. The boys, who wore apparel not unlike that of the Ukrainian demon that they had seen at the Quidditch World Cup, landed first and bounced several times, leaping higher than even said demon. The girls landed gracefully after the boys had finished their jumping. The girls wore shirts similar to the boys', short red skirts, and red boots. In their hair they wore a wreath of flowers with ribbons coming down the back. Then the Headmistress landed a yard or so in front of her students. She was dressed like the other girls, except without the headpiece.

"Charles, how good it is seeing you!" cried the Headmistress.

"A pleasure to see you too," Professor Clover responded. Then he turned to his students "Everyone this is Roxelana Molfar."

She was a beautiful woman, light skinned and with dark hair that clung in curls to her head. Her eyes were dark and powerful. She smiled a little at the mentioning of her name, the corners of her pretty, little mouth lifting slightly, and inclined her head in a small bow. Then her eyes turned cold again as she surveyed the students. Her eyes stopped to rest for a fraction of a second longer on Teddy. He gulped. Who was this woman? There was something frightening about her.

"To the castle, then?" said Professor Clover. The two schools walked together towards the castle. One boy from Charivni Palychky was walking just in front of Teddy, Alex, and Violet. He had horns poking out from his dark hair.

"Oh, my," gasped Violet.

"Ukrainian demon," whispered Teddy.

Teddy glanced sideways at Alex. Alex was quiet. He looked rather uncomfortable looking at the demon in front of them. He caught sight of Teddy looking at him and smiled a fake smile. Teddy returned the smile and wondered what was going on with his best friend.

When they entered the castle, they saw the people from Powaqa. The Powaqa uniforms turned out to be robes with flower designs on them. The three friends had sat down at Gryffindor table when two girls from Charivni Palychky came up to them. One girl had long, dark hair that was held together in a plait and cold dark eyes, not unlike those of her Headmistress. The other looked a little nervous, her green eyes shifting, her face hiding behind her blonde hair.

"Do you mind if ve join you, no?" asked the brunette.

"Not at all," said Violet.

"I am Margareta and dis is my friend Natasha," said the girl.

"I am Violet and this is Alex and this is Ted," said Violet.

The girl's eyes moved from Violet to Alex. "Chort," she said simply. Teddy didn't know what 'chort' meant, but Alex paled and the same uncomfortable expression that Teddy had seen before appeared upon his face. But then the Margareta's eyes fell on Teddy. Natasha whispered something to her nervously, staring pointedly at Teddy. Margareta just nodded and gave Teddy the same cold, piercing look that he had received from Professor Molfar. Then Margareta's gaze turned back to Violet. "You have very interesting friends," said she. None of them had any idea what that meant.

Professor Clover stood up smiling brightly and enthusiastically. "Hello, hello, hello," he cried merrily. "I'll save the long, boring speeches for later. Enjoy your meal!" And with that, food appeared.

They ate some rather foreign looking dishes and some familiar ones as well. Margareta and Natasha proved to be good company to the three friends. They were friendly and interesting to talk to, although they did need to pause occasionally to remember how to say a certain word of phrase in English.

After desert had disappeared the Hogwarts Headmaster stood up to speak again. "I would like to make some announcements about the Triwizard Tournament. Some of you may have known that there are usually five judges. This year that is not true. There will only be three judges, Mrs. Shane, Professor Molfar, and myself. And now, let me introduce you to our impartial Judge…the goblet of fire."

The Hogwarts caretaker Mr. Cunningham brought out a large wooden box with jewels embedded into it. He gave the box to Professor Clover who tapped the lid of the box thrice causing it to open. From the box he lifted a cup, also made of wood, with whitish blue flames coming out of the top. This was the Goblet of Fire. Professor Clover explained how one would write one's name on a piece of parchment along with the name of their school and throw it into the Goblet of Fire, so that they would be considered for the position of their schools. He also explained about the Age Line and the other enchantments around the Goblet of Fire.

"Well," said Professor Clover when he had finished explaining, " goodnight!"

**AN: Hello dearies! **

**First and foremost, please review. **

**Next, this chapter was an info chapter so if you fell asleep I don't blame you, but next chapter will be shorter and much more interesting. **

**About the words: Charivni Palychky= Ukrainian, literally translates as Magic Sticks, so basically it means Wands Powaqa= Hopi name for Witch (Don't look up 'chort' unless you want to ruin it for yourself) **

**Professor Clover is not like Dumbledore. I'm basing Clover off of someone I know that just happens to have the X-ray eyes thing (yes there are people like that, it's a little creepy). **

**Did you all see HP7? I saw it at midnight the day it came out. So awesome! **

**Me no own Harry Potter! Please no sue! **

**Love, **

**vampireling23 **

**P.S. Review, review, review! **


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